They haven't skipped a single beat from last season and sent a surge of confidence through Syracuse fans that good things are on the way again this season (even though that was Akron out there). The Zips only had 166 yards of total offense, were 4-for-17 on 3rd down, managed just 55 yards rushing, and got a steady wave of Derrell Smith, Doug Hogue, Chandler Jones, Bud Tribbey, and Shamarko Thomas goodness.
*Derrell Smith and Doug Hogue ladies and gentlemen. They simply live up to the hype every time. Both all over the field all night and stood out as the best players on the defensive side of the ball. Again. Enjoy 'em this year folks before they play on Sundays next season.
*Who else is excited about what Chandler Jones is going to bring this season? He wasn't a stat machine in this one (2 tackles) but his presence was clearly felt all night on defense and he even blocked a kick.
One other play stands out. Jones was eyeing Akron QB Patrick Nicely on a pass play like a hawk, jumped up when Nicely pump-faked, landed, and still chased him down for the tackle. For a guy who goes 6-5, 250, he moves like a linebacker.
*I thought Ryan Nassib had a solid, solid debut as a starter. 17-for-27, 229 yards, 2 TD.
You could see how fired up he was to play in the first half, the guy was practically twitching out there, but settled in and you could tell that he had command of the offense and started to ooze confidence all game. What I really liked was how intent he was on getting rid of the ball quickly, even when the offensive line had its breakdowns.
We knew coming in he had arm strength and that arm strength was displayed in full on a number of throws. Not only did his throws have zip, but were put in the right spot almost every time. Think of Van Chew's 47-yard catch in the 2nd quarter. Chew had to fight off the defender, was on the way down, and simply reached up for the ball at the last possible second. When he did, the ball was right in the receiver diamond.
I'm not a fan of Nassib running the ball (we'll get to that) but when he had to scramble he did it effectively, even displaying a smart slide on the sideline when Akron's Mike Thomas had him targeted for a big hit.
I'm excited to see what he can do when more of the playbook opens up for him and the game plan isn't as simple and vanilla as it was for this game.
*Gotta give some love to Van Chew, who had 3 catches for 79 yards in this game. By the way, Chew had 6 catches for 66 yards for the entire 2009 season.
We noted the great 47-yard catch above. Chew also made a highlight reel TD right at the end of the first half on a terrific pump-and-go throw by Ryan Nassib.
I don't think he is # 1 WR material quite yet, but proved in this game that he can be a threat out there, has terrific athleticism, and can make a catch or two in duress.
*Delone Carter didn't quite have the all-star day he did last year vs Akron (30 carries, 174 yards, # TD) with 26 carries for 91 yards and TD in this one, but he did what he was asked to in this game and that is grind.
Doug Marrone wanted to run as vanilla a game plan as he could and exploit the power running game. Carter did that as best he could behind an offensive line that is still getting the gears going.
We all know what happened in the offseason. The fact that he was even out there for this game was big. I'm not sure Antown Bailey could have grinded and gotten 26 carries in like that had he been given the #1 job in the case of a Carter absence.
*I liked what I saw out of Aaron Weaver in his Syracuse debut. He made a nice play on the opening TD and provides Nassib with a big target (6-2, 220) who is hard to bring down. I think he is going to be one heck of a red zone threat and his previous game experience at Hofstra is going to pay off when Nassib needs a guy to lean on against more experienced defenses.
*I thought Alec Lemon had a nice game with 5 catches for 49 yards and the best thing about him is he fights to get open. But, like Chew, I'm not sure if he # 1 WR material. We'll see how it develops.
*Nick Provo had one big play, a catch for 33 yards, but don't let this game fool you. I think Provo is going to be targeted a heck of a lot more as we go along. He provides a terrific stop gap for Nassib if this developing core of WR's can't get open against some of the better defenses on the schedule.
*We saw some flashes as to why people have been so high on Bud Tribbey for so long. I'll never say "Art who?", but Syracuse is in good hands at the NT. Tribbey was dominant in the middle. He was making plays even with a blocker hanging off him half the time. Akron had nothing for him.
*The special teams certainly had some issues that need to be cleaned up (stop me if you have heard that one before), but props to Mike Holmes for the blocked FG return for a TD.
*Have to hand it to Akron LB Mike Thomas. What a beast he was in this game. 14 tackles, a forced fumble (which he recovered), and he broke up a pass. Dude was everywhere on the field making plays all night long.
*Syracuse was 10-19 on third down. Nice. Real nice.
*Syracuse had 20 first downs to Akron's 9.
*Syracuse had 202 yards rushing to Akron's 55.
*Total yards. 431-166. That is domination my friends.
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